Picture courtesy of Victor Chen

Ridiculous or otherwise, my palms were sweaty. My 30-year old heart was racing as I nervously clicked around the booking site. When it was finally over and booking of the car done, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was one of the 150 owners of a Proton performance hatch! A Satria R3!

From the moment I set eyes on it and collected the keys, I knew I had made the right decision. As much as I was attached to the 1.8-litre single-cam Persona, I knew then that the SR3 was THE car for me. No matter if it is a Proton and all the negative sentiments that surrounds the brand. This car… is just SO me!

30,000 clicks, two tire changes, four track days, two sets of brake pads, numerous autocross events, 15 additional horsepower and Stage 2 mods later, the car still offers so much daily driving thrill.

Oh did I tell you? A pre-SSO tune-up (big thank you to Sohaimi, you da man!) unleashed a shocking 153.8-horses at the flywheel (135.5whp) and an astonishing 19.9kg/m (195Nm) of torque (17.5kg/m atw or 171Nm atw). With a torque curve as linear as it is possible, the car is truly responsive. Low-end to midrange power is phenomenal. I had never expected those numbers, especially not needing to port the head. Mad. Will post the dynochart once I get it scanned.

With each little mod and tune-up, this little black beast is heading towards being labelled the ultimate hot hatch, for me at least. Just missing the clutch upgrade, limited slip differential, hydraulic handbrake kit and short shifter. And of course the R3 Stage 2 coilover kit (still under development), which would be a welcome addition to an already fine-handling car.

Notwithstanding the VW Golf GTi and Ford Focus, the Satria R3 certainly deserves its label as a ‘hot hatch’. Ultimate? It very well could be. As they all say, never say never!

Calling all SR3 owners – What’s your story? How has your SR3 treated you? How have you treated your SR3? Tell me, tell me!

Technorati tags: Satria R3, R3, Race Rally Research, Proton, motorsports, autocross

 

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